Becoming
by Creepy Mae West Kozi
Summary: Gabriel laughs bitterly. "...And so, I am become Death, destroyer of worlds," he would murmur without humor. "Beloved Marie... Claudia... and Laura... I have done as you asked, but in doing so... I have become a Monster...?" What is left for the man who has lost everything? The answer is more than he thinks. Post LoS1.


At first, he doesn't know who he is, or where he has ended up; the only certainties are the dried flakes of blood on his lips, and the still glowing green shreds of gore cakes on his finger. Behind him, a bright blue light swirls like a whirlpool, and the glare of it stings his eyes. He flinches, bringing up his arm to shield his face from the cold shine of the light, and he flinches again, this time as deja-vu hits him like a sledgehammer. He once shielded his gaze from light not unlike this one at least two times before.

"...Laura...!" Gabriel lets out a strangled sob as he instinctively lips his lips - the dried blood crusted around his mouth is hers - her ashes and the tattered wine velvet of her dress lie crumpled on the stone steps before him. He looks at his hands, pale and clawed where the flesh of his fingers peek through the worn leather of his gloves on the inside of the metal gauntlets encasing his forearms, and still dripping with the iridescent blood of the Forgotten One.

"...What...remains for a beast such as I...?" Gabriel simply lets himself fall back, lying on the cracked steps in front of the demon's empty prison. He felt empty and hollowed out, as if a great hand had reached into his chest and scooped out his heart. In a way it had - Marie was gone. The Brotherhood of Light, the way of life he had dedicated himself wholly towards, had turned out to be built on a bed of horrifying half-truths and lies. He had saved the world from the Founder's mistakes, and from Satan himself. He had acted as God's Champion, but in doing so had lost his ethics, his sense of morality, and now his humanity.

Gabriel laughs bitterly. "...And so, I am become Death, destroyer of worlds," he would murmur without humor. "Beloved Marie... Claudia... and Laura... I have done as you asked, but in doing so... I have become a Monster...?"

 _'Never, Gabriel. You are the man I love.'_

He bolts upright, for a moment thinking he had imagined Marie's soft voice - an angelic sounding balm to his weary soul. His eyes widen in a mix of awe and disbelief - as she had before, she is once again before him, ethereal and glowing.

"But... I thought you had ascended to Heaven...?" Gabriel is more than glad to look upon her face once more, ghostly and insubstantial as she is, but he also feels a sharp pang of guilt and heartache at the sight of her. She should have gone on to Heaven, to be at peace, rather than have to contend with a selfish creature like him.

 _'I know that look, Gabriel, darling,'_ Marie chides him, kneeling down beside him. Like a flower towards the sun, he can't stop himself from curling towards her. His eyes water with dryness - he refuses to blink, afraid to have her disappear the moment he looks away. _'You must have Faith in yourself. I have Faith in you, and so does He.'_

"...How can you bear to look upon such a wretch as I, Marie? ...I burn with such hatred and bitterness... towards Him, towards myself." And he does. Hearing from his love that the God to which he had devoted his life has Faith in a murderous creature like that which he has become - it rankles him. He wants to lash out, to rage and scream and curse. To abandon his God, as he has been abandoned; to burn the False Brotherhood to the ground-!

 _'Gabriel!'_

Marie's distressed and plaintive cry breaks him from his thoughts.

 _'Your emotions have always been so very powerful - it is one of your greatest gifts, but also your greatest weakness... You need to think calmly about this.'_

He smiles at her words, nodding his head and feeling like a contrite schoolboy at her admonishment. Marie always was the best at breaking him from his brooding. "...You always did know best, my love," he replies, the barest hint of a smile touching his bloodstained lips. "...But... How are you here? I thought you gone."

 _'I am here, because I love you. And you needed me.'_ Her expression is gentle and kind, and her love shines within her ghostly form brighter than any starlight. _'You were betrayed my love... But the Brotherhood did not betray you-'_

"The hell they didn't!" Gabriel recoils, snarling. For the first time since he drank of Laura's blood he can feel his fangs, heavy and sharp in his mouth. "The Founder's created the Lords of Shadow out of their own arrogance! And Zobek-!" Marie cuts him off by gently resting a translucent palm against his cheek, and he halts in his tirade, going stone still as it becomes clear to him. "...I'm mistaken... in part. The Founder's made a mistake... but the Brotherhood they founded have fought loyally and bravely for the Light. And for all that he wore their tabard, Zobek was not one of us. ...I am betrayed by Zobek, but not by my true comrades in arms..."

Marie nods, happy to see that Gabriel could see reason. _'You have more reason than most to seek revenge, dear Gabriel.'_ She raises an eyebrow in fond exasperation. _'Just make sure to accuse the guilty.'_

"But the Mask - I could not save you, Marie. God abandoned me when I needed Him the most."

She shakes her head slowly. _'No. The Mask was never capable of such a feat - it was just another one of Zobek's lies, Gabriel. Surely you can see this?'_

"I..." He shakes his head in disbelief - not at her words, but at his own hubris. "...I almost threw away my Faith in Him... my convictions... Because of my selfish belief that it was all about me, about us. But it never was, was it? It was about everything, and I was just a part of it." He had been so arrogant, taking the actions against him by the Evils of the world as a personal affront.

 _'An important part, Gabriel. A good part - the best,'_ Marie tries to placate him, ghostly fingers threading through his hair. He can almost feel the sensation of her fingertips against his scalp like a half-forgotten memory.

"I can't go back," he murmurs quietly. "I am a vampire now," he states solemnly, his voice cracking in grief and self-doubt at the proclamation. "My home... my comrades amongst the Brotherhood..." He pauses, reticent and disgusted with himself; he would have attacked them all - his childhood friends, his teachers - and gloried in his ill-gotten and misplaced revenge. "No. I can no longer return to that life. ...What am I to do, Marie? ...How can I go on without you?"

 _'I have Faith you will find a way,'_ Marie begins, frowning slightly in mock annoyance when he snorts at her in disbelief. _'I cannot stay with you long, dear heart, though Lord knows I wish I could be by your side always.'_

"It is enough that you are here with me, now," Gabriel replies softly.

Now, it is Marie's turn to snort in disbelief. _'Of course it isn't. But... Even if I am away from you, I will be watching over you my love.'_ A mischievous light enters her eyes, and she leans towards him conspiratorially. _'...And I'm sure I can wrangle a way to visit, now and then,'_ she promises with a seriousness that belies her attempt at levity. _'...But now it is my turn to confess to you a Sin of my own. ...I fear I have done you a great wrong, my husband.'_

"Marie, you know I will forgive you of all things, no matter how grave," Gabriel promises solemnly. "If this burden pains you so, I do not need to know of it. Only tell me if you wish it, not out of any obligation-!"

 _'We... You have a son, Gabriel,'_ Marie's interrupts him, solemn.

Gabriel's mouth gapes open and shut, but no words come out; he is struck speechless.

 _'You were gone for almost a year - I carried him, and birthed him... and then the Brotherhood convinced me to keep him secret - to give him up to them.'_

Gabriel's astonishment turns to anger. How dare they steal his son?

 _'Gabriel! My love, please, listen!'_

It isn't until he focuses past the rekindled embers of his rage that he realizes he's growling - a low threatening rumble clawing its way from deep in his chest and up his throat. "How? How dare they take our child-?!"

 _'To save his life! To save your life! To save everyone! ...They showed me a mirror, Gabriel - I saw such terrible things in it... I didn't understand it at the time... But think! If out son had lived with us, and if Zobek had known-!'_

Marie doesn't need to continue; Gabriel can imagine the outcome well enough. He pales as the horror of it strikes him. Bad enough that the Demon Mask and Zobek's influence had ended his wife's life at his hands... but if he had killed his son, too... Such a thing would have broken him beyond repair. Such would have been his grief - Gabriel knows he would have damned the world and sought his own death had such a thing occurred.

"But... Our son? He... lives? Marie! What is his name? ...No... How can I go to him like this?!" A horrified cry of grief and fear escapes him. "I am a creature of the Dark - how can I care for a boy? Though I have never met him, already I love our son with all my heart... But how can I be his father if I am like this?"

 _'...I don't have all the answers, my love. ...For your sake, I wish I did. But I have Faith that you will find a way to protect him. To help him. ...Our child's name is Trevor Belmont.'_ Marie averts her eyes, sad and ashamed that she cannot aid Gabriel more. Of course, Gabriel would never agree with that assessment - to him, Marie has always been his saving grace.

"If I must exist in the shadows," Gabriel decides, steel in his eyes and fire in his heart for the first time in a long while. He feels driven - alive for the first time since Marie's murder. "I shall protect him from within them." His gaze is steady and determined as he kneels before Marie's ghost like a knight, and makes a solemn pledge, his fist clenched tightly over his unbeating heart. "The very Darkness shall become his ally - God as my witness - I shall protect my son. Our son. In action and in deed, I shall find reasons to live again."

Gabriel smiles fiercely, blinking away tears as Marie fades away from his sight. He stands, strong and Dark. "I shall become as fierce and as dedicated as the greatest of Dragons," he vows. "I shall guard the life of my kin with all of my strength!"

Thunder cracks, the boom of it rattling all the way through the Castle down to the catacombs deep beneath it where Gabriel stands. The dark powers he had stolen from the Forgotten One thrum in his veins, and he grins a satisfied and predatory smile. The Dark will come to fear him - he will crush them under boot. Every creature of evil shall submit to his wrath - and none shall dare to harm the lives of the innocent, the life of his son.

"Eu sunt Dracul!"


End file.
